Texan Mosaic

Story by Meredith Cloud/COMM 2311-601

What do rubber ducks, shoes and furniture knobs have in common?  It’s a bit of a trick question.  The answer is nothing really.  They are all just examples of some the many things people collect.

South Plains College student Abriel Mata says he collects hats.

 “I kind of enjoy the different designs from each one,” he says, “and it’s also easier to have enough hats that you can put it with a certain outfit.”

An exact number of just how many people are “collectors” is hard to pin down.

Psychiatrist Shirley M. Mueller, author of a 2020 article in Psychology Today, says 33 to 34% of the American population collects things.

MagnifyMoney.com, a site designed to help consumers grow investments, says 61% of Americans are self-proclaimed collectors.

We conducted our own anonymous survey of SPC students to try to get a number.  We asked two simple questions:  Do you collect?  And what do you collect?

Out of 20 students, 17 said they collect something.  That equals 85%.

Julianna Harris, an SPC assistant professor and licensed clinical psychologist, puts the number of people who collects at even higher. 

 “So, I think it’s also important to realize that all human beings collect,” she says.  “We all do.  I think if I were to ask my students right now to tell me how many photographs are in their galleries on their phone, it’s going to be in the hundreds, probably the 1000s for some people.”

So, if we all collect something, maybe a bigger question is why we do it.

Harris says collecting can be divided into two parts, the getting and the keeping.  Both parts, she says, have connections to the brain.

The getting or hunting part, she says, triggers the reward center.  “So, you have your hypothalamus that gives you that rush of reward when you locate like the item.  But you also get a dopamine response as well, like, a serotonin and even adrenaline response when you’re looking.”

The keeping part of collecting, she says, triggers something else.

 “And so that triggers the hippocampus,” she says, which is our memory store.  Specifically, our episodic memories, and so that triggers our nostalgic response.”  

Nostalgia is one of the reasons SPC student Matthew Brown says he collects movie memorabilia.

 “I used to have a Youtube channel,” he says, “where I reviewed movies so the shelf was my backdrop.”

Now, Brown’s collection includes popcorn movie buckets, Funko Pops, and DVDs.  Some of the items, he says, are attached to memories of certain people.  For instance, his girlfriend gave him a movie action figure for his recent birthday.

Another interesting dimension to the collecting phenomenon is what we collect and what those items may say about us.

Out of the 17 students who answered our survey, students listed items like hats, shoes, postcards, rubber ducks, stuffed animal sloths, and jewelry. 

It sounds like some collections just have to do with style.

Instead of hats, for instance, student Kami Woody says she collects shoes.

 “I definitely don’t wear all of them often,” she says, “but I like to switch it up when I can.”

But style doesn’t seem to be the reason behind some collections.

One Saturday Evening Post article from 2017 describes a man’s collection of 100s of plastic cockroaches.

“I like the fact that people find them revolting,” he is quoted as saying.

Julianna Harris says she has a collection of more than 600 furniture knobs.   The reason, she explains, is she uses them in her hobby of refinishing furniture.

“The other thing is collecting,” she says, “like other hobbies, is it’s part of our identity.  So, like, it’s an outward reflection of, like, something about ourselves.”

Collecting, she says, also gives people a sense of group membership.

“So, in this class I just got done teaching,” she says, “I asked them, like, what they collect.  And, oh, somebody was saying, Marilyn Monroe memorabilia.  And a girl from the other side of the class was like, ‘Oh, my God, I love Marilyn Monroe.’ And, so, they started to have this really cool exchange.  And then I noticed they, like, walked out together after class.”

How many of something is too many in a collection?  Again, that’s a question that’s hard to answer.

Plastic cockroaches don’t take up too much room.  Neither do rubber ducks.  But Mata has 30 hats so far.  “I don’t think there is really a limit on too many hats,” he says.  “Like, it’s, if you like something, then collect as many as you want.”

Faith has 37 pairs of shoes.  “I don’t think it’s too much,” she says.  “But I’m running out of space to keep them”

Maybe a better question is: How big is your closet?  Or garage?  Or dorm room?